2003 Articles by Amanda Foreman
- The Times: 25th October 2003
The Lost Art of Letter Writing
Two hundred years ago, a relative of Princess Diana’s, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, wrote that, ‘the secret springs of events are seldom known. But when they are, they become particularly instructive and entertaining.’ This week, Paul Burrell allowed the public to see the most secret of secret springs surrounding the Royals. The result has been the kind of reversal of truth that historians dream about but rarely find. Not since the famous ‘casket letters’ affair of Mary, Queen of Scots has a batch of correspondence proved so revealing or damaging. But while Mary’s letters were almost certainly forgeries, Earl Spencer has no such defense. All this time the public assumed the worst about Prince Philip and the best about him. Now, we know that the former was much closer to Princess Diana than his portrayal by the media ever allowed, and that the latter was actually much more distant.The Burrell scandal is a reminder of how prone the Royals are to having their innermost thoughts become hostages to fortune. Considering how many times over the centuries, they have tried to retrieve embarrassing letters it is amazing that they continue to write them. As a silly young prince, George IV wrote some particularly cringe-worthy letters to his mistress, the actress Mrs Robinson, in which he called her ‘Perdita’ and signed himself ‘Florizel’ after the main characters in her play................................
- The New York
Times: 5th July 2003
To the Imperial Manor Born
"My name is George nathaniel Curzon,/I am a most superior person,/My cheek is pink, my hair is sleek,/ I dine at Blenheim once a week."Lord Curzon, the last Victorian viceroy of India, wasn't actually a weekly visitor at Blenheim Palace. But his conceited behavior inspired such stories. The unfortunate doggerel was composed by two Oxford contemporaries; and somehow, wherever he was the rhyme was sure to follow. Indeed, not since the grand old Duke of York - who had 10,000 men, and marched them up to the top of the hill and marched them down again - has a man's reputation been quite so damaged by a simple rhyme.
Admittedly, the charges against Curzon appear to leave nothing for the defense. It is de regueur among students of colonial history to dismiss his seven-year tenure as viceroy as a failure for India and Britain. Among political historians, Curzon is the archrat; a turncoat and self-server who deserted his friends at the wave of an opportunity. And finally, among the world at large, he is a symbol of all that was wrong with British imperialism................................
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